Paopu Fruit
by Sheba the Lone Wolf
Summary: A sudden storm leaves Riku and Zahara stranded in a small cave. RikuxOC. Fluff, one-shot.


**Disclaimer: Sheba the Lone Wolf does not own Kingdom Hearts. However, she does rightfully own Zahara. **

**Dedication: Rexy-plexy84. **

**Pairing: Riku/OC (for practice and for fun). If such material does not appeal to you, LEAVE.**

**Paopu Fruit**

Neither of the two teenagers took any notice when the heavy, ash-colored clouds rolled in from the west, spoiling the perfect blue of the sky that gradually faded into the sparkling ocean. The two were consumed in their childish play, splashing one another in the bright blue water, glittering in the remaining sunshine.

It had been almost seven months since Riku had found her on the shore, unconscious from blood loss. He had taken care of her, and quickly learned that she was hazardously suicidal and tended to cause harm to herself, which was why she had passed out on the beach in the first place. She had a dark and frightening past, and had lost her father at a very young age.

But, even sooner than he learned of her suicidal feelings and her tragic past, he had learned an even darker secret of hers: she was a werewolf.

Initially, the fact was very startling. But, after recalling all that had happened within the past few years, Riku hadn't been as surprised. It had taken her an entire month of cowering in the corner silently to tell him her name: Zahara. Afterwards, however, she had quickly grown surprisingly close to him. She told him about her awful past and her worst memories, and how she had never had a single friend in her lifetime. She was glad for Riku's company, and he didn't mind having her around; she was usually quiet and didn't eat much at all.

He wasn't sure why Zahara had stayed for so long. Weeks had turned into months, and now an entire year was drawing closer. He had taught Zahara against harming herself, and she had gone for many months without doing so. Riku praised her efforts. As she grew even more attached to him, she had revealed herself as a relatively shy girl; she could even be shockingly sweet at times. He now chuckled at the memories of her nearly burning the house down while trying to make him breakfast, or how she had once taken his cell phone and played "keep away" with it for an entire hour.

Zahara was just over five feet, and she was relatively scrawny due to how little she ate. She had jet black hair cut and styled into a stack, with long bangs tipped with hot pink that covered one of her exotic eyes. She usually wore an assortment of black clothing, adorned with hot pink markings at times. To hide her scars from past abuse, she wore a pair of striped arm warmers. There were three tiny, silver stud earrings in the rim of her left ear, and a row of four hot pink, dot tattoos beneath each of her eyes, downsizing as they drew closer to the inner corner of her exotic orbs. Her skin was very pale, even after gaining some color during her time spent on Destiny Islands.

Finally, as the sky darkened further and the leaden clouds covered the sun, Riku and Zahara became aware of the quickly approaching storm. In an instant, the peaceful sea had turned to a churning mess of waves, rain beginning to pelt down on the island from the sky. A fraction of a second later, a flash of lightning lit up the darkened sky, followed by a deafening bellow of thunder.

Riku had taken Zahara to the opposite side of the island than usual, where the stretch of beach was isolated and usually empty, dotted with large boulders. It was a forty-five minute walk to his house, much too far to travel during the thunderstorm. Squinting in the downpour, Zahara's sharper-than-human eyes caught sight of a tiny cavern a dozen yards away.

"We can take shelter there," Zahara suggested. She escorted Riku through the rain, whimpering as a bolt of lightning struck the ground a few precious feet from where they walked on the sand. The cavern was tiny, and it was a tight squeeze for both Riku and Zahara to fit inside. Riku was crushed against its farthest wall, and Zahara was huddled just inside the entrance. The two shivered in the cold, their sodden swimsuits providing little protection against the wind.

Riku's stomach rumbled after several minutes in the cavern and Zahara said, "I'm hungry, too. I can go into wolf form and try to find a fruit tree or something for us to eat."

"Be careful," Riku warned, indicating the dancing bolts of lightning outside, bright against the ashy sky.

"I will," Zahara answered, before vanishing through the doorway.

Five minutes later, Zahara returned, phasing back into her human embodiment as she entered. She squeezed into her place beside him.

"Any luck?" he asked. She nodded.

"I found a fruit tree," she replied. "But, most of the fruit was gone. There was only one piece. You can have it."

"No. You're hungry, too, Z," Riku said. "We can share."

Riku stifled a gasp as Zahara offered him a distinctive, star-shaped fruit. She noticed his sudden change in expression and inquired, "Something wrong?"

"Zahara," he whispered. "That's a paopu fruit."

"What does it matter?" Zahara asked. "It's food, isn't it?"

Zahara had never heard of the paopu fruit, or the legend of entwined destines that came with it. She hadn't lived on Destiny Islands long, and hadn't socialized with its residents often enough to learn the legend. Riku had never thought to tell her the story behind the star-shaped fruit; they had become increasingly rare, after all, and he assumed she would never see one anyhow.

"Zahara," he sighed. "There's an old legend behind the paopu fruit. It says that, if two people share the fruit, their destines become intertwined. It's a very loving gesture to share the fruit with someone. You normally only do that with someone you're in love with."

"Oh," she muttered. Dropping the fruit on his lap, she said, "You can have it. I'm used to going without food for long periods of time. An hour or two won't be anything compared to what I've been through."

He noticed a trace of hurt in her eyes as she turned and asked, "Is something wrong, Z?"

"Am I not…good enough?" she whispered. "Is it because I'm a…" She paused, taking a deep breath before finishing, "A werewolf."

A few seconds of silence passed before Riku realized what she meant. He frowned.

"Zahara," he breathed. "I didn't know…"

"You _saved _me, Riku," Zahara said. "I would have committed suicide if it wasn't for you. Why wouldn't I love you?"

Zahara took the paopu fruit in both hands, leaning closer to him. His warmth was pleasant against her wet body. His ice blue eyes were wide with shock; he had no idea she had felt so passionate about him. Then, as she leaned hesitantly, almost cautiously, into his chest, bringing her trembling legs over his lap, he broke out of his surprised trance.

She was shivering viciously on his lap. He knew the cold was in part to blame for her shaking, but he also sensed that she was actually afraid. Terrified. She wasn't afraid of the Heartless or the darkness, or of the fiercest villain, but the thoughts of having her affection rejected by Riku were horrifying. She had fallen in love once before, with a silver-furred wolf who promptly rejected her affection and went on to taunt her for the next month before she lost her patience-

A tremendous shudder ran down her spine. She didn't like to think about what sin she had committed on the night when her tolerance was in short supply. She remembered the massacre only too clearly.

…would Riku do the same? Would he reject her adoration and torture her with harsh words until she could take it no more?

"Riku," she whimpered. "Please, please, don't hurt me."

Her voice dropped another octave as she spoke, "I can't take the pain of losing you. My family is dead. I don't have any other friends. You're all I have, and you're all I need. You-"

His hands lapsed over hers, holding the paopu fruit between them. He silenced her with a gentle, brisk peck on her smooth lips. Zahara's strangely colored eyes grew misty as his lips brushed hers again. She smiled, her shivering finally ceasing as she kissed him lightly.

As he parted from her soft lips, he took the paopu fruit from her, twisting his hands in opposite directions to halve the fruit.

"I promise I'll take good care of you, Z," Riku said, taking her hand and wrapping her fingers around her portion of the star-shaped fruit. "I won't hurt you."

Zahara craned her neck upward, nuzzling her face against his for a brief moment, kissing his forehead softly.

Then, with a tender smile, she took a bite of the fruit. Riku mimicked her actions. The two ate in silence, their free hands entwined on her lap. The juices of the sweet fruit streamed down their chins, and the two laughed quietly about their mangled appearances: drenched hair and swimsuits, mouths covered with paopu juice.

Zahara wiped her mouth on her forearm briskly before tilting her head upward to clean the sweet nectar from Riku's face with her tongue in a wolfish gesture. He laughed as she licked his face.

An absolutely deafening crash of thunder sounded, and the rain began to fall in even heavier sheets.

"It's not going to let up any time soon," Riku noted. Zahara smiled, nestling into his bare chest, resting her face in the nape of his neck.

"It's alright," she reassured him. "After all, you're all I need."

**A/N: I was SO bored today, so I wanted to write a fanfic to occupy my mind. I thought of this the other night, but I didn't think about writing it because OC/canon pairings attract flamers. I've written one other one-shot for this couple (called "Simple and Clean") and one of my major fanfics, Kingdom Barks, focuses on them. I didn't expect much when I started working out the details on the couple, but then I fell in love with it. **

**I really like how this came out. I'm pleased with one of my one-shots, for once. ^^ I WILL block anyone who flames me, but constructive criticism is welcomed. I also love, love, love encouraging comments (and fanart -hint, hint-). Please review. **

**::Sheba:: **


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